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- "…This particular Jedi—Master Depa Billaba—is hardly a threat. Our intelligence identifies her as a failed commander, a liability to the Republic. In fact, according to this, you yourself faced her on Haruun Kal…where you decimated her troops and very nearly ended her life."
- ―Confederate General Kleeve, to Grievous
The Battle of Haruun Kal was a battle that took place on the planet Haruun Kal in 19 BBY during the Clone Wars. Jedi General Depa Billaba led her battalion of Republic clone troopers against enemy forces from the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Separatist commander, General Grievous, engineered an onslaught that claimed the lives of ninety percent of Billaba's troops, resulting in a Confederate victory. Grievous personally bested Billaba in single combat, and she remained in a coma for the next six months as she healed from her extensive injuries. Eventually, she recovered and received command of a new battalion of soldiers, though her failure at Haruun Kal haunted her for some time.
The battle
- "Her last mission? Her battalion suffered ninety percent casualties. Ninety!"
"Who was she up against?"
"Way I hear it, General Grievous."
"Whoa…"
"Best case, he out-generaled her. Worst case, she's bad luck. Cursed." - ―Jedi initiates Sammo Quid and Tai Uzuma
In 19 BBY[3] during the Clone Wars,[4] the planet[7] Haruun Kal[4] in the Mid Rim Territories[8] became a battlefield when detachments from the Grand Army of the Republic and the military of the Confederacy of Independent Systems clashed there.[4] Overseeing the Republic infantry was Jedi General Depa Billaba, a member of the Jedi High Council. Her battalion of clone troopers encountered resistance in the form of the Confederate General Grievous. Grievous's forces decimated Billaba's troops, causing her unit to suffer ninety percent casualties.[2] Only four soldiers survived the carnage: Commander Grey; Captain Styles; Sergeant Soot; and Corporal Big-Mouth.[5]
Grievous, meanwhile, engaged Billaba in single combat and defeated her,[9] severely injuring her and rendering her comatose.[2] Though Grievous failed to confirm her death, the Confederacy eventually learned of her survival and included it in its intelligence files.[4]
Aftermath
- "Am I…'damaged goods'? I imagine the answer is yes."
"But you seem fully recovered."
"From physical injury, yes. Nevertheless, the inescapable truth is…many good men died under my command. Those deaths are my responsibility. And I fear causing more…which makes my usefulness as a commander in the field…suspect." - ―Depa Billaba and Caleb Dume
Billaba remained comatose for six months after her defeat on Haruun Kal.
On account of the Republic's catastrophic losses, the Confederate forces claimed victory on Haruun Kal. Billaba was brought back to the Jedi Temple on the Republic capital of Coruscant, where she entered medical treatment.[2] Some of her surviving men, including Styles and Grey, believed that they had failed her at Haruun Kal and swore to never do so again.[9] Other troopers, however, came to regard her as "damaged goods" for her failure at Haruun Kal and the losses her command sustained.[2]
Billaba did not emerge from her coma until six months later, at which point her fellow Jedi Masters evaluated her and allowed her to return to her seat on the Jedi High Council. Her defeat at Haruun Kal not only tarnished her reputation as a military commander, but it also hindered her confidence as a general and forced her to live with the guilt of losing so many men.[2] Nevertheless, she helped to thwart a Separatist attack on the Jedi Temple and resumed her military service with a new Padawan, Caleb Dume. Grey, Styles, and the other survivors of Billaba's previous unit became the commanding officers of her new battalion within the Grand Army.[5] Despite the fear that had entered many troopers' hearts after Haruun Kal that she was "damaged goods,"[2] Billaba's command, by the time of the Battle of Kaller at the war's end, included many soldiers who had served with her for years.[10] Conflict leftover from the Clone Wars on Haruun Kal would culminate in the bombardment of Haruun Kal during the Imperial Era.[11]
Behind the scenes
The Battle of Haruun Kal was created as part of the backstory for Star Wars: Kanan, a canon comic series published by Marvel Comics. Writer Greg Weisman developed the details of the battle for the series' second story arc, First Blood. The battle was initially alluded to in the story arc's first issue.[2]
The plot point of Depa Billaba entering a coma after a battle on Haruun Kal originated in Shatterpoint, a Star Wars Legends novel that was written by author Matthew Stover and published in June 2003.[12]
Appearances
- Kanan 7 (Indirect mention only)
- Kanan 9 (Mentioned only)
- Kanan 11 (Indirect mention only)
- Kanan 1 (First mentioned) (Indirect mention only)
Sources
- Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
- Knights of Fate (First identified as Battle of Haruun Kal)
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
Notes and references
- ↑ Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 Kanan 7
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy places the Battle of Haruun Kal between the mission to Utapau, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 19 BBY, and the Battle of Utapau, dated to 19 BBY by Galactic Atlas.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Kanan 9
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Kanan 8
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Knights of Fate
- ↑ "Mace Windu and Other Users of the Force" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- ↑ Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Kanan 11
- ↑
Star Wars: The Bad Batch — "Aftermath"
- ↑ "The Final Order" — From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back
- ↑ Shatterpoint